This is the on-going tale of a Mom and her adjustment to the changing times of her life. About two and a half years ago, the Bean family moved to Jordan from the US. This blog is about MommaBean's new experiences as a foreigner in a wonderful new land, transition from a working Mom to a stay at home one to an entrepreneur, and various other thoughts as they may occur.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Creative Spelling Causes Reflections on Childhood

One of Amman's lesser known tourist attractions lies right on Rainbow Street. I have a friend whose office is in the building across the street and he says he sees 1-2 people taking pictures of Capricio every week. That's right salon as tourist spot. And, clearly, it's the creative spelling that brings out the cameras. I have to say that this spelling error is one of my favorites in town. Let me tell you why...

My brother is dyslexic. For those of you who may not be familiar, dyslexia is a disorder that affects the way your brain receives images. It is not, as some people believe, a vision issue. It is also not a stupidity issue. Dyslexics are actually typically quite intelligent, but their brain tricks them when processing letters and numbers. So, they can't always distinguish between b,d,p,and q. Their brain receives these images all the same way. So, dad becomes bab. Fine if you mean door in Arabic, but dad may not be so happy with it :). As a result of this disorder, dyslexics typically have significant challenges with spelling. Beauty, was in fact the hardest word for him.

He always remembered that it had extra letter you didn't pronounce, he just wasn't 100% clear on which letters they were :). The only consistent thing about his spelling of beauty is that it wouldn't be consistent. It might be bueaty or it might be beiauty or it could be buety. Really, it could have been anything. However, it was nice that you could usually tell what he was trying to say. So, anyway, I enjoyed this particularly for the memories it brings back of my fine, handsome brother. I hope you enjoyed it as well.

3 Comments:

Thanks for helping people understand my favorite disorder! I even TYPE with dyslexia! Yes, in Arabic i have problems with the dots up or down, b's or n's, or kh's or j's. wow, it's actually a miracle I can read Arabic a bit, as I can't figure out which side of ANY book to start for a second any more!

Speaking of typing dislexia, can anyone explain to me why, since I moved to jordan, I start typing "b" instead of "p"? I do this ALL the time! Has my accent changed so much that it affects my typing? Weird.

The joys of cross cultural dyslexia. Kinz, I have to say that the dots are VERY hard. I'm a tad concerned that ButterBean is slightly dyslexic. She seems to have some challenge with b and d and 6 and 9. So, we'll see. I think it's a bit too early to tell.

About Me

I am an entrepreneur and Mom to three lovely beans. I'm originally from Alabama and currently live in Jordan. Professionally, I've spent the last 15 years in and about Project Management and Consulting with a variety of companies large and small.